Three council seats on this fall's ballot Herlihy, Hanslip and Connolly running for reelection

By Shawn P. Sullivan

Sanford News Editor

Thursday, August 7, 2014

SANFORD — Three city council seats are up for grabs this election season, and all of their occupants intend to run on November’s ballot.

Deputy Mayor Maura Herlihy and fellow councilor Joseph Hanslip have both said they plan to take out nomination papers to seek terms of three more years. As well, Councilor Dianne Connolly said she will run to finish the term to which she was appointed earlier this summer when Kenneth Burgess resigned due to work obligations. The unfinished term ends on Dec. 31, 2016.

“There’s a lot of work that I’d like to see through completion,” said Herlihy of her own bid. “I think Sanford has a great future, and I’d like to be a part of that.”

Herlihy cited an uptick in home repairs, a recovering economy and the project to build a new high school and technical center as indicators of Sanford moving in a favorable direction.

Hanslip said he enjoys municipal government and believes that the city is working through its challenges and “getting better.”

“Some people are not happy, but I think the majority of people see the progress we have made,” he said.

Hanslip said he knew he wanted to run for another term when he was recovering from surgery while battling cancer earlier this year. During that six-week period, he said he realized just how much he missed being involved with the council and in the community.

He said he particularly enjoys helping people with the “little stuff,” such as getting answers to their questions or helping them advance their neighborhood, region or Sanford as a whole.

“It’s a privilege to be among those chosen to lead our city,” he said.

Connolly declared, “I am going to run,” during an interview with the Sanford News on Monday. She said she believes the city is “on the right track,” but that more needs to be done.

“The mil rate’s got to come down,” she said, referring to the amount per thousand dollars of valuation that Sanford’s property owners pay on their annual taxes. “We need to get a big business in here that can help.”

Connolly cites MetLife and Liberty Mutual as two of the kinds of corporations that Sanford needs to attract to the community. She also said she’s open to listening to people’s ideas about “what they think should come to town to get the revenue in.”

Nomination papers for the council race and others will be available at the city clerk’s office at Sanford City Hall at 919 Main Street this Monday, Aug. 11. Papers are due back at the clerk’s office, signatures and all, by 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 22. The election’s on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

The Sanford School Committee has two seats available this time around; Chair Kendra Williams and member Thomas Miscio are the incumbents. Both terms are for three years.

Elsewhere on the ballot, there’s one three-year term available with the Sanford Water District’s board of trustees. Roland Cote is the incumbent. As well, two seats are in the running for the Sanford Sewerage District’s board, with Andrew Marby and Keith Patterson as the incumbents.

All candidates for municipal office must be residents and registered voters of the City of Sanford. Candidates must collect at least 50 signatures from registered voters of Sanford-Springvale in order to appear on the ballot. There are two exceptions — candidates for either the water or sewerage districts need only to gather 25 signatures.

For more information, please call the city clerk’s office at 324-9125.